


Sappy

by sonictrowel



Series: Long Night in the Blue House [43]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Babies, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Mush, Gen, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 13:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10967910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonictrowel/pseuds/sonictrowel
Summary: River was quite cross with him.  The TARDIS’s scans indicated that they had reached the point when she really ought to be staying still if she didn’t want him to have to literally catch the baby, but she kept pacing round the room, trying to swat him away whenever he got close.“Honestly, sweetie, will you please sod off?” she said tersely.  “I’ve got this covered.”





	Sappy

**Author's Note:**

> If you want a quick dose of baby-fluff... well here you go :)

[Darillium]

River was quite cross with him.  The TARDIS’s scans indicated that they had reached the point when she really ought to be staying still if she didn’t want him to have to literally _catch_ the baby, but she kept pacing round the room, trying to swat him away whenever he got close.

“Honestly, sweetie, will you please sod off?” she said tersely.  “I’ve got this covered.”

“Hush,” the Doctor scoffed as he came up behind her, shaking out his wrist until his hand began to tingle with warm, golden light.  Before she could stalk away from him again, he wrapped his other arm gently around her shoulders, holding her close to his chest.  

“Did I tell you I let Davros steal loads of my regeneration energy?” he spoke into the crook of her neck.  “Could’ve wasted half a dozen lives on the Daleks, honestly.  Maybe more.  Who knows?”  

River was half a syllable into an outraged response when she tensed suddenly in his arms and went silent.  He placed his hand over her abdomen and she instantly let out a breath and relaxed, then swatted his arm.

“Stop that!”

“You see,” he went on, “I wanted to make their sewers revolt against them.  Mostly just because I was cross with him for trying to use my forgiving nature against me!”

“If you’re trying to make _me_ less cross with _you_ , you’re really going about it arse-backwards,” she growled.

“You know, that old ‘set up someone else with a grievance to do all the killing so I can tell myself I didn’t do anything wrong’ bit,” he continued, unfazed.  “I know how you _love_ when I pull that one.”

“Are you _quite_ finished?!” River barked, breaking out of his grip and stalking over to the med bay bed.  The glow faded from his hand while she hovered there, seeming indecisive about whether she should climb into it.

“Told you I was a prick til you found me again,” the Doctor went on cheerily, following after her.  “I was quite happy to toss all my lives in the bin for a bit of Dalek destruction.  Didn’t particularly want them, anyway.”

Now she was frowning at him, and it wasn’t only a scowl of pain or irritation.

“What I’m trying to say, sweetheart,” he stood in front of her and took her hands in his, “is that helping my wife and daughter is quite a good use of energy.  I’m going to do what I bloody well please with it in any case, so best I don’t waste it on some daft revenge plot, eh?  Obviously I can’t be trusted when left to my own devices.”

“You’re an idiot,” River grumbled.

“I love you too,” he said with a fond smile, and leaned in to kiss her, the gold glow emerging again in his palms.

___

Athena was incredible.  She was so _small._  Were they always so small?  Probably.  It’d been… longer than the Doctor cared to think about.  Some hurts were too ancient, and didn’t bear remembering.  Not when there was so much joy and goodness in the present.

She bore a bit of a resemblance to her little sister— that thought just summed up the insanity of their wibbly-wobbly lives, didn’t it?— with warm almond skin and a tiny halo of coily dark hair, though her eyes were a deeper brown.  She was all small and snuggly and warm, and she made these brilliant little sounds, and her tiny hands curled into tiny fists, and she was _theirs._  That his amazing, perfect goddess of a wife loved her fool husband so much she wanted to share this miraculous thing with him, and now, here she was— it was grace he could scarcely comprehend.

Ten fingers, ten toes, two hearts.  The TARDIS's scans showed that mother and baby were in excellent health.  The Doctor had made River as comfortable as she’d allow him to, while she cradled Athena and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her and cried like the sentimental idiot he was.  As he held her, his hands burned with an outpouring of energy that he suspected he was more channeling than supplying; something which a faint, happy _vworp_ from the TARDIS seemed to confirm.

They spent the rest of the day in bed together, trading off holding her, staring down at her in wonder.  

“She looks like you,” the Doctor muttered, his fingertip clasped in Athena’s tiny fist.  “And Milly.”

“Hmm,” River said, leaning her head on his shoulder.  “I’m afraid that means she’ll get your winning personality.”

“Hah.  I _know_ you’re not with me for my looks, wife — can’t count on getting a scary-handsome one _every_ time.  You must like me or something.”

“Well, don’t let on.  I’ve an image to keep up.”

He kissed her forehead.  In his arms, Athena squirmed, opening her mouth wide and making a tiny, clipped squeal.

The Doctor chuckled and River groaned, tucking her face into his neck, where he could feel her grinning.

“The big yellow thing’s your mummy’s hair,” the Doctor cooed— as much as his gruff voice was able.  “She’s lovely, isn’t she?  Just like you, little one.”

River kissed his neck and slid her hand over his where it was supporting Athena, so they were both holding her, fingers tangled together.

Eventually, with River snuggled into his left side and Athena tucked into his right arm, both his girls drifted off to sleep.  The Doctor kissed their heads, silently and softly.  They needed to get lots of rest, and his eyes were stinging again, and no one need witness more of him being a humany sap.

___

Nardole was totally enamoured with Athena (though really, how could anyone not be?  The Doctor was quite an objective judge, obviously, and she was clearly the best baby.)  In the first weeks, they took the cuddling and feeding and nappy duties in rotation.  The Doctor could definitely have managed on his own and given River plenty of breaks since he needed very little rest, but having a third set of hands awarded them the luxury of having some alone time for just the two of them.  He mostly spent it holding River and watching her sleep, though she occasionally found the energy to snog him senseless.

She (he also judged with total impartiality,) was the best mother a little Time Lady could ever ask for.  He’d thought it impossible that he could be any more fiercely in love with his wife, but somehow he’d been wrong.  River had always wanted them to have a family, but never truly thought they could.  Seeing that new joy blossom in her day after day made his hearts feel like they’d burst.  Every time he watched her with Athena, holding her and beaming at her and cooing responses to her little cries, he felt a lump forming in his throat.  He vowed to himself he’d not let them be apart for long.  He’d fight for this as long as he had a single breath left in his body.  Whatever body.

___

It was a Sunday afternoon, and everyone was gathered together in the lounge, watching _Iron Chef._  Well, the Doctor and Nardole were still watching.  River and Athena seemed to have formed a habit of using him as a Time Lord-shaped pillow whenever nap time struck.  He very much didn’t mind.

Athena woke first, flailing her little arms and blinking her huge eyes blearily up at him.

“Hallo,” he said quietly, smiling down at her.  “Did you have a nice nap?”

She made a delightful little series of babbles and squeaks.

“Let’s be quiet, alright sweetheart?” he whispered.  “Mummy’s very sleepy.  Maybe Nardole can—” he glanced over to the armchair, eyebrows raised.

“On it!” said Nardole cheerfully, standing from his chair and pausing by the sofa to wave to Athena, _ooh_ ing quietly as she raised her pudgy arms slightly and jerked them back down by her sides with a little squeal.

That _was_ pretty brilliant.  The Doctor was sure she must be quite advanced for two weeks.  Time Lord physiology and all.  Really, how many babies could do, do— whatever that brilliant thing was?  Probably none.  She was a genius.

Nardole returned a few minutes later with a bottle.  “Here you go, little lady,” he said, “nice and warm.”  

The Doctor carefully manoeuvred his arm over River’s shoulder to hold it up for Athena.  He vaguely recalled a phone conversation several years ago with his future self, telling him he’d no idea what a sap he’d become.  River stirred a little in her sleep, letting out a quiet sigh as she snuggled closer to him.

Being sappy was brilliant.

 


End file.
